


Everything Changes

by doing_her_best



Series: Greenlan Family Forever [1]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Emma and Barry friendship warms my heart, F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Greenlan deserves a happy ending and a beautiful family, everyone is so soft I just can't, this is my favorite thing i've ever written, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 18:23:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20643641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doing_her_best/pseuds/doing_her_best
Summary: The soft future baby fic that Greenlan deserves





	Everything Changes

**Author's Note:**

> THEY DESERVE THIS  
Also, the song Emma sings is "Everything Changes" from Waitress.

"He’s gonna get it,” Alyssa said gently, rubbing her stomach.

“We don’t know that,” Emma said as she plopped down next to her on the couch. One hand held a big bowl of popcorn, and the other quickly wrapped around Alyssa’s shoulder.

“Hmm, babe, I think I need space,” Alyssa said apologetically, twisting under Emma’s touch.

“No problem,” Emma replied, sliding over to the far end of the couch. “How’s everything feeling?”

“I’m ready to be done,” Alyssa said, groaning a little.

Emma smiled and leaned over to protectively rub her wife’s massive stomach. “Just two more weeks, babe.”

“Two more weeks,” Alyssa echoed gently.

Emma sighed as she leaned back on their couch, reaching for a handful of popcorn. _“_I’m just so nervous.”

“About the baby?”

“No- well, yeah, that too, but mostly about Barry. I really, really want him to win.”

“Well, he deserves it more than anyone,” Alyssa said.

“Whoa, I wouldn’t let DeeDee hear you say that,” Emma joked.

“She already has three! It’s Barry’s turn.”  
“He was such a good Tevye,” Emma said wistfully. “He made me cry."

“That’s cause you have Daddy issues.”

“What, like you don’t?”

“Fair,” Alyssa said, with a little laugh that quickly turned into a painful wince.

“You okay?” Emma said, furrowing her brow.

“I’m fine,” Alyssa replied as she placed a hand on her ballooned torso. “He’s just a little restless.”

“‘He’?”

“Yeah, it feels like a ‘he’.”

“Last week you said it felt like a ‘she.’”

Alyssa sighed, leaning back to recline a bit more. “Well, _today_ it feels like a ‘he’.”

“Well, at least our baby won’t have Daddy issues!” Emma said playfully. “Just double the Mommy issues.”

“She sure will,” Alyssa replied.

“‘She’”? Emma asked again. But before she could get an answer, music blasted from the TV. “Here it is!” Emma said excitedly, bouncing up and down as the announcer on screen started to read, “Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Tony Awards!”

* * *

“This is it, babe,” Emma said a few hours later. She leaned forward on the couch, shaking with anxiety as the commercials ended. “Here’s his category.”

“Finally,” Alyssa grumbled with an angry scowl. During the three hour broadcast, Alyssa had quickly grown frustrated and impatient waiting for Barry’s category, which of _course_ was second to last. 

Emma didn’t respond; her entire body felt electric as she waiting for the host to announce the presenters. She shoved the popcorn she had been munching on for hours onto the coffee table and resorted to biting her nails angrily.

“Emma, stop biting,” Alyssa snapped, a tad crankier than usual.

Emma swiped her hand out of her mouth, fighting the urge to shoot Alyssa a death glare. She knew her wife was uncomfortable, but this was huge deal! She deserved a break from the constant sniping.

Suddenly, the presenters were reading the names of all the nominees for Best Actor in a Musical, and Emma squealed when they read, “Barry Glickman, for Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof.”

“C’mon, Barry!!!” Emma cheered. She sounded like a football fan cheering at the big game.

“He can’t hear you,” Alyssa snapped again, her jaw tight.

Emma clenched her teeth instead of snapping back, refusing to let Alyssa’s mood spoil the moment. “And the Tony goes to…” The seconds it took for them to open the envelope were endlessly, but then they finally said it. “Barry Glickman!”

“YES!!!!!” Emma cheered. She instantly burst into tears, laughing and crying and howling with joy. She watched on screen as Barry stood up and ran on stage, grabbing the statue the presenters handed him. She turned to Alyssa, tears running down her cheeks. “He did it, babe, he won!”

Alyssa smiled at her, looking a little far away. Emma didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because Barry was about to start his speech, and she didn’t dare tear her tear-filled eyes from the TV. She hung on every word of his carefully prepared speech [thanking his manager, cast and crew members, voice coach, and therapist] while she choked on tears of overwhelming love, until Barry paused for a moment.

“There’s one more thing I want to say,” Barry said, looking straight at the camera. “This show is all about family, and without my chosen family, there’s no way I could have done it. You know who you are, and I just want to say thank you, all of you, from the bottom of my heart. And Emma-”

He paused for a moment, choked up. He wiped a single tear before continuing, looking straight at the camera. “Emma Nolan, on stage I pretend have five daughters, but you are the closest thing I have to a real life one. I love you, you make me a better actor and a better man, and I can’t wait to meet your baby. This is for you.” He held up the statue a little before bowing slightly, and he started to walk off the stage.

Music started to play, and Emma began to wipe her eyes. Before she could say anything or process the overwhelming emotion she was feeling, she felt Alyssa squeeze her shoulder tightly.

“Okay, Emma, we have we to go, now!”

“What?” Emma said, turning to her. Only then did she see the panic on her wife’s face.

“I’m in labor. We have to go to the hospital.”

“WHAT?” Emma’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as she stared at Alyssa, who she now realized was ashen and sweating.

“It started a few hours ago,” she explained, holding out her hand for Emma to grab. “Now, help me get - ahh!!” She screamed as a contraction ripped through her, leaning forward and squeezing Emma’s hand tightly as agony filled her body.

“Ahhh!!!” Emma screamed back with both fear and pain as Alyssa clenched a death grip on her hand. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?!?”

“I couldn’t let you miss Barry’s award!” she howled, lurching over in pain. “But he won, so get me to the goddamn hospital and get this thing out of me!!!”

* * *

The waiting room at Mount Sinai Hospital maternity ward in the middle of the night was nearly empty. There were a few exhausted looking thirty-somethings, a handful of half-sleeping children, and two old women knitting. All of them couldn’t help but stare at the strange gaggle of arguing actors in the corner of the room decked out in elaborate formal wear, fresh off the red carpet. 

“Bernadette. Patti. Audra,” DeeDee insisted, staring at the wall. “Something legendary.”

“I think it needs to be spunkier,” Angie countered. “Like Trixie. Or Britney. For a boy, Sebastian. Or Xander.”

“I like Julian,” Trent supplied with a small smile. “Or Julie, for a girl.”

“Because it sounds like Julliard?” DeeDee said with an eye roll.

“Fight me, Allen.”

“They’ve already picked names,” Barry said absentmindedly, spinning his award. He couldn’t take his eyes off it, it was that blindingly shiny.

“Is that so, Mr. Tony Winner?” Angie said playfully, eyeing the statue he still gripped tightly.

“Give me a break, Angie. It’s four in the morning. I haven’t been out this late since I did Rent in Summerstock.”

DeeDee sighed, glancing at his spinning trophy. “Why don’t you head back to the party at Sardi’s? We can give you a call when the baby is born.”

“Not a chance,” Barry replied.

“It’s your night, Barry. You deserve to celebrate-“

“I said no.”

“What about naming the baby Tony in honor of tonight?” Trent suggested.

“Oh, _god._”

“Why are you here?” DeeDee said. But before the two could start snapping, Angie pointed a finger at the double doors.

“There she is!” Angie exclaimed as Emma slid through the doors into the waiting room. Her clothes were disheveled, her eyes were red and her face was puffy, but she was as radiant as the sun, beaming with unmatched pride as she walked towards the group with her arms full. The four actors jumped to their feet and crowded around her, brimming with joy.

“Oh my god, it’s a boy!” Trent said excitedly when he sees the little blue blanket swaddled in Emma’s arms.

“Nope,” Emma said, smiling so big and tight her skin might burst. “They ran out of pink blankets. And gender’s fake anyway, but … it’s a girl.”

Everyone clapped and cheered as she proudly shows off the small, wrinkled baby nestled in the blankets.

“_Wow,_ she looks so much like Alyssa,” Barry exclaimed, staring at the little girl’s face.

“A miniature copy,” Angie agreed, gazing at her beautiful light brown skin and dark hair. “Hope she has her mother’s brain, too.”

“Hello, there,” DeeDee cooed as she stepped closer, examining the little girl. Emma gently passed her daughter into DeeDees arms, watching the normally stone cold woman melt a little. “Oh, she’s just breathtakingly gorgeous.”

“Yeah, you did good, kid,” Trent joked approvingly. 

“Well, Alyssa did all the hard work,” Emma said with a proud grin.

“How is she?” Angie asked.

“She’s good. Pretty tired. Some doctors are examining her now, but she did great.”

“Now, do we finally get to hear the name?” Barry asked excitedly, jumping up and down.

“We want to tell you together,” Emma replied.

Trent pouted angrily. “Oh, please! Waiting out here is torture! First you drag us away from the party of the year, and now you force us to wait-”

“Okay, okay,” Emma said, exasperated. “We’re naming her after my grandmother.”

“Oh, baby Betsy!” Trent exclaims. “It’s no Julie, but it’s fantastic!”

“Well, no.” Emma grinned. “Betsy is short for Elizabeth, so that’s her name. But we want to call her Ellie. Betsy felt too … grandmother-ish.”

“Ellie,” Barry breathed, stepped closer to DeeDee. “Oh, that’s just so cute. Can I hold her?”

DeeDee gently passed the baby to his waiting arms, watching his face light up when he grabbed ahold of her. “Hello, Ellie,” Barry said in a goofy voice. “It’s me, your uncle Barry.”

“Do you want to know her middle name?” Emma asked with a devilish grin.

“Of course,” he said, rocking her slightly.

“We wanted to honor what brought us together, and what brought us to all of you-“

“HA! DeeDee Junior, I knew it!” Dee threw her arms in the air, making victorious fists.

“Oh god, Emma, please tell me you didn’t,” Trent begged, shooting her a look.

“Of course not,” Emma said with a laugh. “No, we wanted to honor _all_ of you.”

“Okay, so what’s the middle name?”

Emma grinned and suppressed a giggle before announcing it. “Eleanor!”

There was stunned silence for a moment before Angie and Trent burst out laughing. Barry and DeeDee shared a disgusted look before they joined in. Soon, all five were laughing maniacally, drawing angry glares from everyone else in the waiting room.

“Elizabeth Eleanor Nolan. It’s perfect,” Angie said with approval.

“Is Alyssa up for visitors?” Barry asked, wiping away a tear. “I’d love to scold you both at once for that.”

“I can check,” Emma said, holding out her arms. Begrudgingly, Barry carefully returned the baby to her waiting arms. She made sure she had a firm grip around Ellie before looking back up at her friends.

“Thank you guys… for being here. It means the world to Alyssa and I.”

“We wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Angie said, Trent and Barry nodding next to him.

“Not even for VIP access to the after party-“

“_For anything,”_ Angie repeated firmly, ignoring DeeDee’s interjection.

Emma grinned down again at Ellie in her arms, who was starting to fuss. “She’s lucky to have four really awesome grandparents.”

“_Grandparents,”_ Barry moaned, placing a dramatic hand on his cheek. “We don’t look that old, do we?”

“Well, some us don’t,” DeeDee said, fluffing her hair.

Emma laughed and headed towards the door, but she turned back at the last second.

“Oh, and Barry?”

“Yes?”

“Congrats on, you know, winning a Tony.”

He shrugged, nonchalant. “No big deal. This is much more important.”

* * *

The first thing Emma noticed as she walked towards Alyssa’s room was how few people were standing around at the nurses’ station. The second thing she noticed was someone rushing down the hall. The third was just how loud it was on the floor, and that it was all coming from Alyssa’s room. 

When it all clicked together, Emma felt her heart skip a beat.

Without thinking, she broke into a run, clutching a whimpering Ellie close to her chest as she burst into her wife’s room, unable to understand what was happening. There were doctors, what seemed like dozens of them, shouting and moving and grabbing at machines and needles and tubes. It took a few long moments before she spotted Alyssa in the middle of it all, her face wide with terror as someone slipped an oxygen mask over her mouth.

“What’s happening?” Emma whimpered, but no one could hear her. No one even looked at her. Everything was so loud and chaotic that she felt like her head was spinning.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING?” she screamed. She distantly heard Ellie begin to wail in her arms just as a doctor murmured, “Get them out of here.” Before she could understand what was happening, someone had pulled her out the door and whisked Ellie from her arms.

“Emma,” a kind voice said. “Emma, look at me.”

Emma struggled to focus on the woman in front of her. It was Meghan, Alyssa’s delivery nurse. “What’s… happening? What’s happening to her??” She was distantly aware of Meghan passing Ellie to another nurse, but she was so disoriented she couldn’t process it.

“Emma, everything is going to be okay. Alyssa’s spleen ruptured, and we need to get her into surgery-”

“ALYSSA!” Emma cried as she watched a crowd of doctors wheel her wife’s bed out of her room. She broke into a run and tried to follow them as they hurriedly pushed her down the hall, but Meghan stepped in front of her. She felt the nurse grab onto her shoulders as an elevator closed, and just like that, Alyssa was gone.

“Emma, look at me,” Meghan insisted. “She’s going to be fine; we just need to get her into surgery right now.”

“I… Ellie-”

“I had someone take her to the nursery. Alyssa’s going to be absolutely fine. Surgery should be about four hours; I’ll update you when I can.” Meghan gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before hurriedly saying, “I’m sorry; I have to go with them. It’s going to be okay.” With that, Meghan dashed down the hall, leaving Emma standing alone in shock.

What?

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. This wasn’t really happening.

It was so fast. Less that five minutes ago, she was holding her perfect baby walking towards her perfect wife. Five minutes ago, everything was fine. This didn’t make any sense.

Numbly, she walked towards the waiting room, her body on autopilot. Everything sounded very loud and very quiet at the same time, and it felt like her stomach had sunk down to the bottom of her shoes.

“So can we see her?”

“Wh- what?”

“Alyssa. Can we see her?” Barry had to repeat it four or five times before the words fully processed in Emma’s foggy brain.

She froze, struggling to respond. Her mouth was dry, her palms were sweating, and her heart suddenly felt like it was beating faster than a hummingbird’s.

“I… I need to be alone,” she managed to choke out, stomping down the hall before a panic attack could sweep over her entire body. She heard her friends calling her name, but she ignored them; she needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.

She dashed in and out of identical looking hospital corridors until she found the one she wanted: the one outside the nursery. She ran up to the window and pressed her face against it, breathing heavily. Her hot breath fogged up the glass, but she was still able to spot Ellie in seconds, laying in a tiny basket.

Seeing Ellie there instantly calmed her, and Emma began to take a few deep breaths. Shaking, she walked away from the window and slumped against a chair. She struggled to catch her breath as the world felt very, very far away and also incredibly close at the same time.

“You okay, honey?” a nurse asked, an older woman with fiery red hair. Emma said nothing; her throat felt like it was swollen shut.

“Can I get you anything?” she prodded gently.

Emma swallowed, struggling to find enough air to choke out the words. “Pen and paper?”

The nurse nodded and quickly went to go fetch them, leaving Emma alone for a few moments.

Alyssa needed to be okay.

She had to be.

There was no other options.

The nurse returned a few minutes later and placed a pen and notepad in Emma’s lap. Emma didn’t acknowledge it, so the nurse merely shrugged. “I’m at the station around the corner if you need anything else, hon,” she said as she turned away.

Emma swallowed again. It took a herculean effort, but a glance up at Ellie gave her the strength she needed to pick up the pen and start writing.

* * *

The click of two dress shoes on the linoleum floor did little to distract Emma as Barry walked towards her.

“Emma,” he said, staring at her. “Are you okay?”

“I said I wanted to be alone,” Emma said, not looking at him. She was furiously scribbling on a notepad.

Barry sat down next to her, running his fingers through his hair. “I just talked to a nurse; she said Alyssa’s should be out of surgery in a couple of hours.”

“I know,” Emma replied, still writing.

He placed a protective hand on her shoulder that she quickly shrugged away. “She said it’s an easy surgery, one they do all the time, and Alyssa should be perfectly-“

“_Barry_, I know,” Emma said firmly. “You don’t have to tell me that.”

“But I _do_ want to tell you that it’s alright to still be scared.”

Emma froze. She tightened a death grip around the pen; Barry noticed her hands shaking slightly. “I’m not scared.”

“Emma-“

“I’m terrified.”

Barry sighed gently, saying nothing for a moment before continuing. “It’s perfectly normal to be afraid right now.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Emma choked out, fighting back sobs. “I need her.”

“Emma-“

“No, Barry, if she dies today-“

“Emma!” Barry gasped. “She is NOT going to die.”

“She COULD. _If_ she dies today, I _won’t_ be okay. She’s everything. I don’t think I can live without her, and I _know_ I can’t do _this_ without her.”

“Do what?”

Emma finally raised her head to stare distantly towards to the nursery, her eyes landing on Ellie for a brief moment before they flitted away.

“I didn’t have good parents. I don’t know… what that’s like. And now I have her, and she’s…” Emma paused, at a loss for words. “She deserves a good mom, someone who always knows what to do and what to say. She deserves Alyssa.”

“And she’ll have Alyssa,” Barry promised. “But she’ll have you, too. Emma, you are the bravest, strongest person I’ve ever known. Any child would be lucky to call you their parent.”

“I just…” A single tear finally slid down Emma’s cheek; she didn’t wipe it away. “I already love her so much. And I don’t want to let her down.”

“You won’t,” Barry assured her. “You couldn’t possibly.” He leaned clasped his hands together, thinking of the right thing to say and coming up short.

Emma glanced at him, staring at his tux. It looked so out of place in the sterile hospital corridor. “Where’s your Tony award?”

“DeeDee’s playing guard dog.”

“Well, she better. It’s important.”

“Not that important.”

“What?”

Barry shrugged, nonchalantly. “I wanted it for song long. I spent years, my entire career, fighting to win it. And now… seeing you, with Ellie, it just feels like there are more important things.”

Emma looked at him, filled with wonder. Barry grinned before saying. “You know, Trent said if the baby was a boy, you should name him Tony.”

She laughed, her first smile in hours. “That’s _awful.”_

“Truly awful,” Barry agreed.

“Besides, we already picked out names. If it was a boy, we would have named him after you.”

* * *

The sudden twitch of Alyssa’s hand in her own made Emma jolt awake from her half slumber. She winced as she straightened her spine; she had been slumped over in a chair with her head resting on the edge of the hospital bed, trying to grab a few minutes of sleep while waiting for Alyssa to wake up after surgery.

“Lys? Are you awake?”

“Emma?” Alyssa mumbled as she swam into consciousness.

“I’m here, love.”

Alyssa opened her eyes to find Emma leaning over her. She didn’t quite know where she was, but she knew that Emma was there, so everything was okay.

“My deepest condolences on the loss of your spleen,” Emma said with an impish grin.

Alyssa smiled woozily, still feeling the effects of the anesthesia in her body. “Hey, baby,” she whispered, feeling incredibly weak.

Emma leaned over the bed so she could kiss her forehead. “First you go into labor during the Tony’s, and then you need emergency surgery? God, you’re such a drama queen.”

Alyssa tried to laugh, but she stopped when pain jolted through her abdomen.

Emma gently pulled a few messy locks of hair off the side of Alyssa’s face. “You’re gonna have to take it easy for a while, but I talked to the surgeon a little while ago, and he said you did great.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” Alyssa murmured.

“Me? Scared? Nah.”

“Really?” Alyssa said in disbelief. Humor was Emma’s go-to defense mechanism.

“Not at all. Barry, though, was worried out of his mind”

“Mhm,” Alyssa mumbled knowingly; she was pretty sure that it might have been the other way around. Suddenly, she realized that her foggy mind had forgotten to ask about their daughter. “Ellie-“

“-is being doted on by the gang as we speak,” Emma said, finishing the unspoken question.

“I want her,” Alyssa requested with a gentle sigh.

“In a little bit,” Emma promised. “You need to rest a bit more first. Do you need anything?”

“Just you,” Alyssa replied. Emma nodded and placed another kiss on her forehead, squeezing her hand gently and rubbing tiny circles with her thumb. Alyssa closed her eyes, feeling so wonderfully safe as she drifted back to sleep.

“Hey Emma?” Alyssa whispered drowsily.

“Yes, love?”  
“We have a family now.” 

“We always did,” Emma replied. “It’s just bigger now.”

* * *

“Why won’t she stop???” Emma howled with equal parts panic and exhaustion as she stared at Alyssa, who was rocking their daughter in her arms.

“I don’t know!” Alyssa yelled back over the sounds of Ellie’s violent cries. It was the middle of the night, and Ellie had been wailing for over three hours. Both girls were exhausted and out of options. “We’ve tried everything!”

“Her diaper is still clean?”

“I keep checking it, and yes!”

“Should I try to pacifier again?”

“She’s doesn’t want the paci, Em!”

“And you’re sure she’s not hungry?”

“I’m sure.”

“Are you? Have you tried feeding her-”

“EMMA. You’ve watched me shove my boob in her face ten times and she doesn’t want it. She’s not fucking hungry!”

“Don’t swear in front of my daughter!”

“She’s my daughter, too, and she doesn’t understand, and it’s two in the morning, so I’ll swear if I fucking want to!”

Emma’s jaw dropped. Before she could say anything, Alyssa spat out an apology. “I’m sorry! I just… I don’t know what to do!”

“Well, I don’t either!” Emma replied, near tears. “There has to be something we haven’t thought of.”

“I don’t know,” Alyssa moaned. “How about you try playing something for her?”

“Playing something?”

“Yeah, is your guitar in the living room?”

Emma nodded and quickly dashed out of the room. She returned a moment later clutching her guitar, and Alyssa stood up from place in their rocking chair so that Emma could sit down.

“Put her in the crib,” Emma instructed as she quickly tuned the instrument.

Alyssa nodded before gently placing a still-wailing Ellie into her plush crib. She immediately buried her face in her hands and leaned against the wall on the verge of tears herself, listening as Emma started to lightly strum a few disconnected chords. After a moment, Emma paused, seeming to be considering something, before she started to play a song, one that Alyssa had never heard before, and began to sing.

_Today’s a day, like any other_

_But I am changed, I am a mother_

_Oh, in an instant_

_And who I was has disappeared_

_It’s doesn’t matter now you’re here,_

_So innocent_

_I was lost for you to find_

_And now I’m yours and you are mine_

_Two tiny hands, a pair of eyes_

_An unsung melody is mine for safekeeping_

_And I will guard it with my life_

_I’d hang the moon for it to shine on her sleeping_

_Starting here and starting now_

_I can feel the heart of how_

_Everything changes_

Alyssa lowered her hands in wonder, and she stared at her wife, so absorbed in her song. The tension she had been feeling melted away as she watched Emma sing. Emma usually played her anything she wrote right away, and she listened in amazement at the unfamiliar lyrics.

_I didn’t know, but now I see_

_Sometimes what is, is meant to be_

_You saved me_

_My blurry lines, my messy life_

_Come into focus in and in time, maybe_

_I can heal and I can breathe_

_Cause I can feel myself believe_

Alyssa’s breath caught in her throat as she felt her whole body relax. Emma always had a magical way with song, but this was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Somewhere, she was aware that Ellie had stopped crying, but there was no way she wanted Emma to stop playing.

_That everything changes_

_My heart’s at the wheel now_

_And all my mistakes_

_They make sense when I turn them around_

_Everything changes_

_What I thought was so permanent fades_

_In the blink of an eye, there’s a new life in front of my face_

_And I know in due time, every right thing will find its right place_

_So I swear I’ll remember to say_

_We were both born today_

_Cause everything changed_

When she finished, Emma placed the guitar on the ground and leaned it against the wall. “She stopped crying,” she said as she stoop up, incredibly relieved.

“Did you write that?” Alyssa whispered breathlessly. Emma nodded, not taking her eyes off of Ellie.“When … when did you write that?”

“Right after she was born, when you were in surgery,” Emma explained, refusing to look away from the sleeping baby.

“It’s… Em, it’s beautiful,” Alyssa said, wiping a stray tear away from her cheek.

“Thanks,” Emma replied, ducking her head a little bit with embarrassment.

“I didn’t… I don’t know how you were able to write something so perfect.”

“Shut up,” Emma said bashfully.

“No, I’m serious,” Alyssa insisted. “I think it’s the best thing you’ve written. Behind ‘Unruly Heart’, obviously.”

Emma bit the inside of her cheek, thinking for a moment. “I just… I was so scared, when you were in surgery,” she explained. “I thought I might loose you. And if I did, it would have been the worst day of my life. So I just wanted to write something to make sure Ellie would know that because of her, it would still be the best day.”

Alyssa was stunned. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

Emma said nothing; she simply flew towards Alyssa’s arms. “I was so scared,” Emma repeated, resting her head on Alyssa’s shoulder as her wife wrapped her arms around her.

“Our daughter,” Alyssa whispered as she stroked Emma’s back, “Is the luckiest girl in the world to have you as her mother.”

* * *

“Is she asleep?” Emma whispered, peaking her head in the door frame a few nights later.

“Yeah, she went down about half an hour ago,” Alyssa said, gently rocking back in forth in the rocking chair as she held Ellie in her arms.

“Then what are you still doing in there?”

“I just can’t stop staring at her face,” Alyssa explained with wonder as she stood up and placed Ellie in her crib. “It’s like looking in a mini mirror.”

“Totally,” Emma grinned and walked over the edge of the crib. She and Alyssa looked down together in silence for a few moments, admiring their sleeping daughter.

“Are you sad she doesn’t look like you?” Alyssa asked gently.

“What?” Emma was taken aback by the question. “Why would I be?”

“I don’t know…,” Alyssa said, leaning in to place her head on Emma’s shoulder. “I just love to look at her, and see how much she looks like me. And I just … does it bother you that she doesn’t look like you?”

“Not at all,” Emma replied with certainty. “You know why?” She wrapped her arms around Alyssa from behind, breathing her in for a moment. “Because when I look at her, I get to see you.”

Alyssa sighed for a moment for a moment before Emma kept talking. “She has that adorable little crease in her forehead that you have when you’re thinking hard about something,” Emma whispered in her ear. “And when she cries, her nose does that cute like scrunching thing that yours does when you’re angry.”

“My nose doesn’t scrunch when I’m angry,” Alyssa insisted.

“It sure does,” Emma said with a little laugh. She placed a small kiss on the back of Alyssa’s neck before continuing.“And she also has your dimples when she smiles. I just can’t get enough of that smile.”

Alyssa smiled lightly as Emma placed a kiss on her cheek, right over the spot where her dimples were quickly forming.

“And her eyes,” Emma finished, starting to sway back and forth a little with Alyssa in her arms, dancing to imaginary music; “Are the same eyes as the most beautiful eyes in the world. I could look into those eyes for a thousand years and never get tired of it.”

“Oh, Emma,” Alyssa breathed.

“She looks just like the love of my life,” Emma said finally. “What more could I possibly want?”


End file.
